


it's on-brand to have a brand, right?

by trixie_moon



Series: HQ Whumptober 2020 [12]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Branding, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jirou needs a hug, M/M, Mentioned Miya Atsumu, Succubus Jirou, Whumptober 2020, demon Tenshin, demons and angels are both complicated, fallen angel Jirou, he's the son of 2 archangels after all, whumptober day 14
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26486896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixie_moon/pseuds/trixie_moon
Summary: Jirou's a Fallen angel, cast into Hell. Today, he will be branded and everyone will know he is a Fallen.
Relationships: Nawagata Jirou/Suzukawa Tenshin, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: HQ Whumptober 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907605
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10
Collections: Creative Chaos Discord Recs, Whumptober 2020





	it's on-brand to have a brand, right?

**Author's Note:**

> sorry Ji...

_Screams._

Jirou froze in his tracks outside of the aptly named Burning Hall, his thin arm reaching for Tenshin’s thicker one. He shook like a leaf, pressing his smaller angelnodemonyourenotanangelanymoreJirou body against the larger demon’s. “I don’t want to go inside, Tenten…”

Jirou was one of the Fallen. The scum of society both in Heaven and in Hell. He had been an angel until _they_ had caught him and they arrested him on charges of consorting with a demon and without even a single trial, just a picture someone had snapped of Jirou and Tenshin kissing, Jirou had been thrown out of Heaven.

He’d resented Archangel Isamu and Archangel Atsuko ever since.

But down in Hell, at least he wasn’t alone. Many others had been sent to Fall under the regime of Isamu and Atsuko, even their eldest son Atsumu, who was now one of the most powerful demons in Hell. He’d helped Jirou adjust to life in Hell, and for that, Jirou was truly grateful. But Jirou wasn’t sure if he’d ever be used to the screaming in Hell.

He shrank into himself, flaring out his speckled black-and-white wings to seem bigger than he really was. It was a tactic he’d observed from many other demons, both those that were originally Fallen angels, and those, like Tenshin, who were born demons. It made him feel better, but not by much. The screaming was too distracting.

So Tenshin started telling him one of the urban legends of their little corner of Hell. “Did you know that Archdemon Atsumu has a son only a little younger than we are, and while he was born a demon, he was born in Heaven?” he started.

Jirou hummed. “That’s interesting,” he said, “I thought Hiro was born down here like you.”

“No, actually,” said Tenshin, leading Jirou closer to the Hall. “He was born in Heaven, making him a rare find. Rarer still is the fact that his twin brother is an angel and so were both of his parents, at least originally. Until...well. When Archangel Atsumu fell with his newborn son. Rumor has it that _that’s_ the reason that there’s so much animosity between the Archangels and the Archdemons.”

“T-Ten, telling me stories about the other Fallen isn’t gonna make me feel better,” mumbled Jirou. “I-I mean they’re literally gonna burn me...brand me like I’m some kind of property a-and okay, I kind of am property, _your_ property, b-but no one else needs to know that and I-I really don’t like this…”

Jirou’s speckled black and white wings began to flutter now, sending the short boy floating up into the air. He didn’t notice as he was too stuck in his own head, his breathing was beginning to become panicked and choppy.

Tenshin floated up to meet him and hugged his boyfriend close. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be right there with you, so please don’t be scared,” he said gently, brushing back Jirou’s black bangs.

“I’m not scared of the branding…” admitted Jirou, melting into Tenshin’s embrace. “I’m afraid of losing my identity.”

And Tenshin stared, dumbfounded. Of _course_ that was why Jirou was afraid of the branding. He would lose who he was as a person. Sure, he would gain status (and being a demon with low status was better than none), but it would mean losing who he was as a being. 

Jirou was a succubus after all.

Without his identity as a person kept intact, Jirou wouldn’t have had any reason to hold back his more demon-like traits, which in some ways was a good thing. In many other ways, however, Tenshin thought it was worse. After all, succubi were treated either like pampered royalty or degraded beggars, and he knew that Jirou hated being treated like that because if his status, not who he was as a person.

“I-I don’t mind being a succubus and all,” said Jirou softly. His hair had fallen from its high bun and now the bottom half hung down around his neck. “I-I just don’t want it to be the first thing people think of when they see me, y’know? I-I don’t want to just be _the succubus, Jirou._ I want to be me. I just happen to be a succubus too and that’s okay.”

“Oh.” said Tenshin, finally realizing. He laughed softly, his silvery-blue hair covering his eyes, brown and aglow with delight,. “Of course, Ji. I’m sorry I didn’t realize that,”

Jirou smiled back. “Thank you for your apology, Tenten...l-let’s just get it over with.”

“All right,”

* * *

Jirou was starting to regret his earlier confidence, though. The screams were louder now. The demon in charge of the branding reeked of death and decay and hatred, and it honestly made Jirou want to throw up.

That was distracting enough at least.

He was so busy trying not to throw up all over the demon that he didn’t even realize that the iron had come down until Tenshin smiled at him and brought their matching brands together. “See?” he said gently. “We match now, Ji,”

But it didn’t reassure Jirou. 

He burst into tears, they poured down his face like a leaky sink faucet, only this faucet was much stronger. Ji tried to fly away and hide, but he was so disoriented that he promptly crashed. But instead of helping him, the surrounding demons jeered at him. 

“Oh look!” crowed one of them, a tall girl with inky black hair and skin pale as snow. “The stupid little succubus can’t even fly right!”

Beside her, another one of them cackled, “I’ll bet someone was a good little whore, huh? No wonder they kicked you out of Heaven,”

A third one joined in on the bullying, “Bah, he probably hasn’t even tried it before, I mean, if he was experienced, you’d think he’d be able to still fly straight, am I right?”

The demons shared a cruel laugh.

But that wasn’t why Jirou couldn’t fly, Tenshin knew that. The only person Jirou trusted himself to be this open with was him after all. He flew down from where he had been observing the demons, helping Jirou up. “He’s plenty experienced, you fucks! Leave him alone, he just got his branding.”

But that didn’t deter anyone of them. In fact, it only served to make the attention on the pair more magnified. Everyone knew that most born demons never associated with the newly Fallen demons. But Tenshin wasn’t most born Demons. He’d been dating Jirou since before he Fell, and he knew his best friend more intimately than any one of them would _ever_ know him. 

He flared open his black wings, pure jet-black. They stuck out against his head of nearly white hair, and Tenshin smiled darkly, pulling out his own brand. 

“Let’s see how you like it for yourselves.”

_Screams._


End file.
